Growing up in the 1970s in Long Island, New York, I was taught to work hard, and play harder.  I remember being outside every possible second – no matter the season or weather.  Sports were my life; and to this day – at age 43 – they still are.  Back then, it focused on team sports like baseball and hockey; and currently, I play as much soccer as I did back then.  Moreover, I hike, ski, golf, and ride my road bike; as essentially, I’ll do anything to be outside.  And living here in Colorado, which outside Hawaii has more sunny days than any in the nation, I get plenty of opportunity.  Throughout the years, my closest friends emanate from the camaraderie of athletic competition; which aside from being physically healthy builds confidence, endurance, and character.

Yes, we had video games when I was a kid – and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love them.  Starting with Pong in the late 70s; to the Atari 2600, Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Nintendo, my friends spent countless hours playing games.  And in fact, ten years ago I purchased a cocktail “game table” featuring 5,000 games from the 1980s – pictured below, lava lamp décor and all.  However, video games were always secondary entertainment to the outdoors; and generally speaking, most parents and children felt that way throughout my formative years.

Aside from playing sports, I have watched them my entire life.  There is no bigger sports fan on the planet; as I can enjoy a triathlon just as much as the Super Bowl.  The thrill of competition, the agony of defeat, and all that jazz.  And given what it takes to become the best in the world – much less in sports, where the odds of a viable career are close to zero – I have as much respect for great athletes as anyone imaginable.  No one understands more than I how hard it is to claw one’s way through difficult career obstacles; and thus, I salute the rare athletes – men and women alike – who have beat the odds to succeed.

In countless articles over the years, I have written of how American society has badly regressed throughout my lifetime – which not un-coincidentally, commenced in 1970; i.e., one year before the abandonment of the gold standard.  The legendary American work ethic has since died; or at the least, fallen to at best the global average.  Educational scores have plummeted, obesity surged, and entrepreneurship died; in the latter case, as much due to government-created obstacles like inflation and over-regulation.  As for entertainment, the American mindset has so badly regressed, the most popular sport has become “steel cage fighting”; whilst sitcoms and drama have been replaced with low-budget reality television, as American youth have become addicted to gossip, texting, and violent video games.

In the latter case, online gaming has become so popular; literally tens of thousands of American boys have cloistered themselves indoor for days on end; in the process, befriending amorphous strangers with the common goal of KILLING each other for points.  Generally speaking, parents no longer restrict such counterproductive activities; and thus, new generations of children have become the nation’s future.  In my view, the “icing on the cake” – of both foolishness and disrespect – is the U.S. government sanctioning of such activities; as it now awards entrance visas to international video game “athletes.”  In other words, grown-ups condoning activities that harm children’s development; all in the name of the “blood money” earned playing useless video games.

Amidst such a hostile social environment, it’s no wonder poverty is exploding; with food stamps and disability checks alone doled out to 18% of the population.  And now that health insurance costs are set to surge – amidst a dying economy – said “bread lines” will only grow longer.

Eventually, exponentially growing MONEY PRINTING will make food stamps worthless, as the Fed follows the game plan succinctly described below, by Jim Quinn.

This artificial prosperity plan for Wall Street has the added benefit of allowing the captured politicians in Washington D.C. to continue their $1 trillion per year deficit spending with no consequences for their squandering of future generations’ wealth. Bernanke and Yellen will never taper, because they can’t. The Fed balance sheet will continue to grow by at least $1 trillion per year until they crash the financial system again. Except this time, there will be no money printing solution. We are all trapped like rats in this monetary experiment being conducted by evil mad scientists. No one will get out alive. Welcome to the new normal.

–Zero Hedge, October 26, 2013

Which brings me to today’s theme, just one day before the Fed announces its intention to continue QE indefinitely; in doing so, “blaming” the government shutdown whilst ignoring the fact the economy was dramatically weakening before shutdown fears commenced.  And why was this occurring, you ask?  Yep, the foolishness of Bernanke hinting in June that QE might be tapered if the economy improved.  Since that time, the only thing that has “improved” are interest rates; causing both retail investors and sovereign wealth funds alike to fear a potential exit from the Treasury market’s “buyer of last resort.”

To wit, just yesterday, it was reported that both pending home sales and Midwest manufacturing activity plummeted; while today, we learned that September retail sales actually contracted – by MUCH more than reported if “seasonal adjustments” are excluded; whilst consumer confidence experienced its largest plunge in two years.

Amidst this wildly PM-bullish environment, gold was comically capped yesterday at the 12:00 PM EST “cap of last resort” – just $5/oz. below the level it closed out the day of the September 18th surprise FOMC “no taper” announcement.  Moreover, today PMs were visited by the 2:15 AM suppression algorithm for the 104th time in the past 116 days.  Gold has since pushed back to nearly unchanged (can you say DLITG, or “Don’t Let it Turn Green” algos); whilst silver is actually up slightly, to $22.60/oz.  Both metals appear poised to surge once the “no exit meme” goes mainstream; which after tomorrow – when the FOMC statement and COMEX options expirations are in the rear-view mirror – will likely be a fait accompli…

Yes, the “no exit” meme; i.e., the upcoming, universal understanding that not only are Keynesian economics an unabashed FAILURE – producing NOTHING but inflation and big government – but “QE” itself is but a PONZI SCHEME.  In other words, it must grow exponentially larger; or else, instantaneously collapse.  Sure, the short-term impact of such gargantuan “liquidity” – especially the day before FOMC announcements, aided by government “plunge protection teams” – are higher stock prices.  However, as is the case currently in Venezuela and South Africa – plus, countless fiat failures throughout history – such nominal gains are rapidly overtaken by inflation as the underlying currencies collapse; which, in turn, is overtaken by PRECIOUS METALS…

All the noise surrounding these two events is creating is another opportunity to purchase subsidized PHYSICAL gold and silver; as when the “no exit meme” goes mainstream, purchasing them around the current levels will become impossible – if at all.  The PAPER PM Ponzi Scheme is on its last legs; and if you ignore the below proof of such – care of Andrew Maguire – you risk losing perhaps your last chance to protect assets from inevitable, potentially near-term hyperinflation…

We saw evidence of $100 premiums last week that was reported by Reuters.  This week, demand for silver has been absolutely huge.  Shanghai silver premiums have been as high as 64 cents above December futures.  Think about that — that is an incredible amount.

–King World News, October 25, 2013

If you have any questions, Miles Franklin’s friendly brokers – on average, with 18 years of industry experience – will be happy to answer your questions; as will our unparalleled “education team” of David Schectman, Bill Holter, and myself.  No pressure, no “selling”; but simply, answering questions and assuaging concerns.  Give us a chance to earn your business – I ASSURE you, you won’t be disappointed!